The Githyanki race of Baldur's Gate 3 may not be as familiar as elves and dwarves to some players, but their place in the game and its events is important. The githyanki have a long history tied directly to the chief antagonists of the game, the Mind Flayers. These warriors aren't quite as well known as some of the more typical fantasy races, but their role and history within The Forgotten Realms of Dungeons and Dragons are considered quite compelling for some DnD fans.
The main enemies of Baldur's Gate 3 are the mind flayers, though it's hard to mention them without bringing the githyanki into conversation as well. These alien-looking, tentacled creatures are infamous throughout the DnD multiverse due to their incredibly powerful psionic abilities. With ease, these monsters can mentally dominate sentient beings and force them to exercise their will, in addition to enslaving all manner of living beings to feast on their brains for sustenance. These aberrations are a threat to all creatures in The Forgotten Realms, but the githyanki possibly despise them more than any other group could.
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The githyanki people were enslaved by the mind flayers to serve as workers in their vast empire. Over time, the githyanki developed resistance to the mind control abilities of their mind flayer captors and were able to break free from imprisonment. Through a concentrated effort, the githyanki people were able to instigate an uprising, eventually damaging the mind flayer empire and breaking it apart. Not content with breaking free of their captor's control, the warrior race decided that they should seek the destruction of their former masters rather than simply be free of their influence. This, in turn, caused a splinter in the newly-liberated society of the githyanki race.
There were two notable spin-off groups of the githyanki who sought different things. One group's goal was to seek the annihilation of the mind flayers, whereas another group rose to prominence, known as the "githzerai," whose goal was to rebuild their society rather than seek further violent confrontation. The githzerai were led by a figure known as Zerthimon, who was said to receive prophetic visions regarding the fate of his people. This led to civil war, with the githzerai coming out on the losing end, eventually retreating to the plane of existence known as Limbo. Due to this history with the antagonists, the role of the githyanki in act 1 of Baldur's Gate 3 is important.
In addition to being a usable race for custom characters, there is a potential companion and even romance option, Lae'zel, who is a perfect representation of her people's typical personality. The githyanki are typically rather curt and even aggressive people, who place importance on a sense of individuality. The githyanki are very ambitious people, which tends to make them arrogant, but also strangely curious creatures.
They have lived in the Astral Plane where time doesn't pass, and because of this, they have the ability to pursue many skills and explore different fields of study. Rarely did they fully master skills, but it cultivated a curious facet to their nature with githyanki often collecting mementos of their fallen enemies.
The yellow-skinned githyanki are among the most skilled combatants of all races. They're known as merciless warriors who raid other planes of existence, often on the backs of red dragons. Githyanki warriors use a combination of their martial prowess with psionic abilities they developed while they were held captive by the mind flayers. Their culture is centered around combat, with the leadership being directly tied to their military force. Other than direct combat, some githyanki become adept assassins and skilled in subterfuge because of their psionic abilities, in addition to their capacity to wield arcane magic found in the Dungeons and Dragons universe.
In the Astral Plane of existence, the githyanki society is extremely well organized; featuring several cities and fortresses, with one city even being built on the remains of an unknown, ancient creature. Despite possessing some large settlements, most of the githyanki population is spread throughout numerous smaller communities within the Astral Plane. Githyanki have become so accustomed to the Astral Plane where they don't even need to eat, that when they explore other planes they need to eat frequently, and the different levels of gravity make them uncomfortable. Perhaps their alien nature is something players will see more of in the next chapter of Baldur's Gate 3.
The githyanki are a force to be reckoned with in Baldur's Gate 3, and their role is set to expand as more chapters of the game become available. For a lot of players, the developer has expressed their personalities accurately, despite Larian Studios recently toning down companion behavior. With the mind flayers set as the main villains of Baldur's Gate 3, fans can expect plenty more from the githyanki as the title draws nearer to full release.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now on Early Access on PC and Google Stadia.
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